Project LOSS

Chapter 1

At PAVE headquarters, they took the term ‘graveyard shift’ far too literally for Lilah’s liking. Her first assignment as an agent of PAVE was to assist Carla with the clean-up after the day’s battle. The officers used those exact words—‘clean up’—as though the outer wall was littered with garbage and not bodies.

Carla was at least seven-foot tall, wore her hair in a stylish dark blue bob and had arms as thick as Lilah’s legs. The sss-like woman didn’t talk much. She did not make small talk… or talk of any kind unless she had to. Lilah didn’t take it personally. She was yet to see Carla converse with anyone other than her superiors.

Lilah followed in silence, dwarfed by her companion, through the wonderous world of PAVE. In all honesty, PAVE headquarters was not at all what Lilah expected. People talked an awful lot about PAVE, but no one knew the truth. Not until they entered, and once you entered, you didn’t leave. That idea seemed somewhat ominous; as though PAVE were keeping prisoners, but if the rumours were accurate, the opposite was true. You could find safety, security, a cause to believe in and the little luxuries the old world had taken for granted. Why would anyone leave such a place? It had to beat scurrying about in the dust and ruins, on the run from Muties… and worse.

Being a Normie (or non-brainwashed superhuman) had bumped Lilah up the insanely long queue at the entrance. After passing a few simple tests and taking an entrance exam, they decided Lilah fell into the lower end of the spectrum. She was a nine. Nothing spectacular but she would suffice as a soldier in battle. The examiners had said as much, matter-of-factly and without sugar coating.

Lilah didn’t take their lack of excitement to heart. She loved her new abilities. She could run faster, jump farther, punch harder and all without becoming too fatigued. She had never been spectacular in her life prior to the event. Lilah had never excelled at academics, the arts or sports. Had never dazzled with her wit or beauty. She was average, through and through. Her mother had always told her that kindness was her biggest strength, and that kindness counted for more than anything else. Kindness would save the world.

Her mother had been wrong.

There was, apparently, a guy out there with an extreme case of super strength and the ability to reverse the effects of the First’s mind control. If anyone could save the world, it would be him, if he existed at all.

“Has there ever been a one?” Lilah had asked the sour-faced woman adding up her score.

“Well yes. The First would have been a one.” She had frowned as though the question was dumb.

“Stay close,” Carla ordered in a gentle voice, interrupting Lilah’s thoughts. “This place is confusing for those without an implant.”

“When will I get my chip?” Lilah asked. She was nervous about having the implant, but the chip was not optional. All agents and soldiers had to have the internal communications system to keep everyone safe and informed. There had been much talk about the chipping system at induction but, as she had been on her way to surgery, an agent with higher clearance had intervened, whisking her away and leaving her in Carla’s care. He had muttered something about being busy.

Too busy to bother with an unspectacular nine, Lilah thought.

 “It is very unusual that you don’t have one already,” Carla said with a small shrug.

Lilah’s eyes darted, trying to take mental notes and images of her surroundings, as Carla led the way to the outer wall. There was very little to take in. Air vent covers. Long fluorescent lights encased in metal cages, some flickering in a manner that made her eyes sting. The pale green linoleum flooring and faint antiseptic scent reminded Lilah of a hospital or dentists office, and although the corridors lacked variation and defining features, the path to the courtyard did not feel at all complicated. One long corridor and a left to a shorter one. Simple.

The courtyard between the pebble-dashed building exterior and the famous outer wall comprising chipped slab paving upon a sparse covering of small stones and dying grass. As her boots crunched on the stones, Lilah could not help but feel deflated. The place was not living up to the tales of its technological wonders and grandiose towers of metal and glass.

Even the wall wasn’t as tall as she’d imagined; maybe just over twice the height of a standard fence. Carla had to crawl to fit into what she called the ‘hidden exit’ but Lilah was short enough to shuffle through if she stooped over like an old woman. As Lilah stretched back to full height, she felt her heart would drop out of her chest. A sea of bodies, as far as the eye could see, spanned in each direction around the wall.

This is my future, thought Lilah. This is why they didn’t waste time chipping me. Lilah berated herself for having such selfish thoughts. These people were dead, and she was worried about her own expendability.

“They were dead long before they found their way here,” Carla explained. “A necromancer attack.”

“Great, Carla’s a psychic,” Lilah muttered to herself. She would never get used to the idea that her thoughts were out there like radio waves just waiting for those with the right frequency to tune in. Her mind would immediately conjure dumb or embarrassing mental images as soon as a psychic made themselves known. Lilah was sure she could see a faint smile on Carla’s face, even in the sparse moonlight.

“Come on, let’s burn the bodies so we can have lunch,” Carla nudged. The idea did not seem to affect her. She had probably seen too much death for it to have any effect. But Lilah hadn’t, and it did affect her. The smells, the sounds and the overwhelming sense of loss. By the end, all Lilah wanted to do was collapse in tears. Enough tears to wash away the death and the pain and the sadness. But tears eluded her. She was numb.

This place was my only hope, and it is almost as bad as life on the run, Lilah thought.

The cafeteria that Carla so desperately sought was as ordinary as everything else Lilah had seen so far. Rows of red plastic tables and benches resembled those Lilah had seen in old prison dramas. Stacks of food trays were dumped haphazardly by the overflowing bins; skyscrapers of grey plastic and leftover food. The lack of magic no longer bothered Lilah. At least there was plenty of food.

Other agents sat about in groups, conversing, eating and laughing. Only one man sat alone, upon the windowsill, as he stared into space.

“Who’s that?” Lilah asked, indicating the lone man.

“Do you remember the stories about a guy with such strong will-power he managed to summon a god all on his own?" Carla asked.

“But... those were just rumours.”

“Apparently not,” replied Carla. “His name is Alex and he is very powerful. Our last line of defence.”

“Then why is he all alone?” Lilah frowned.

“He’s hated because he gets special treatment and doesn’t have to do chores like the rest of us.” Carla shrugged. “I have nothing against him personally, but I don’t feel the need to make friends.”

Lilah looked down to find a tray she didn’t remember picking up in her hands. Carla plopped an apple and a cellophane-wrapped sandwich onto the tray and sat at the nearest table. Carla tucked into the food greedily, consuming the sandwich in a few bites as Lilah stared at her food. Lilah wasn’t hungry. She didn’t think she would ever feel hungry again. As she stared, she felt the powerful loner’s eyes on her, or at least she imagined she did. Why would someone like that, or anyone, be interested in her?

“If he’s real, maybe that guy with the power to cure is real too,” Lilah said, more to herself than her new friend.

A small blonde on the next table turn and smiled. She was the only person not dressed in the standard issue PAVE uniform.

“Oh, he is real,” the girl said. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high though.”